Waldron is a city of 5,510 in Scott County, about 40 miles southeast of downtown Fort Smith · Updated November 2026
Is Waldron, AR safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in Waldron: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 77% of Americans live. Violent crime grades A+ and property crime A. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A+ to A; see the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 929 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
77% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Waldron as a whole, and 23% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Waldron scores 929.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Waldron, AR at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Waldron, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Waldron
Burglary at about double the US rate. Waldron has 5.2 burglaries a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.4 nationally.
Crime rates and types in Waldron
CrimeGrade™ estimates Waldron has about 38 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, about the same as the US as a whole and 21% less than Arkansas.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Waldron, about 33% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Waldron
Waldron has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In Waldron, 61% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (61%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (51%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for burglary, vandalism.
How Waldron compares with nearby cities
Compared with cities of similar size and density, Waldron has more crime than 61% of them.
Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Density, empty homes and walkability in Waldron
Two things set Waldron apart: it has 15.9% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 32% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson, yet vandalism runs lower here than that would suggest.
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.NoneUS: 24%Lower than for 97% of US city residents
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.15.9% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 97% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 89% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (11 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 74% of US city residents
Show all 6
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.32% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 92% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Waldron: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.2.9 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Higher than for 83% of US city residents
BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Waldron on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Waldron
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Waldron about $1,039 a year per household, 14% less than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $6.4 million a year, or $1,166 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$340,000
$62
Rape
$190,000
$35
Robbery
$12,000
$2
Assault
$700,000
$127
Burglary
$260,000
$46
Theft
$310,000
$55
Vehicle theft
$100,000
$19
Arson
$16,000
$3
Vandalism
$280,000
$50
Total
$2.2 million
$400
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Waldron means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. Waldron is a good example: many people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks worse than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Waldron, AR average a SchoolGrade of C-: 31% of students test proficient, against 43% projected for schools like them. Overall, they underperform expectations. See schools in Waldron on SchoolGrade
